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Tuesday, 7 April 2015

and decisions !

Working on Renulek’s Wiosna Doily 2015
The Last Rounds   (click here for pattern)

What did Big Ben say to the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
If you have the inclination I have the time.

Well, I almost did it again …. Stopped short of the complete pattern. For my 2014 Spring doily, I fell short of threads & time (impatient to get on with new learning).
For the Wiosna, there was no dearth of threads, no dearth of will, no dearth of time, no dearth of inclination.
But decisions decisions decisions ! Especially when there are 2 many cooks ;-P


In a cinch, I asked hubby dear to help me out after Round 9. We were in total agreement over these 3 aspects :
  1. Round 9 colour (ecru) & pattern kind of completed the doily. It looked beautiful & could well be the last round.
  2. The best colour to use for next round should be maroon.
  3. And outlining the maroon should be black.
That’s where our consensus ended. Colours, placement, pattern, size – many things to consider. Much hmms, umms, nahs, maybes, perhaps, blahs, bahs, tatting segment trials, sketch pen trials, pattern trials later, we decided to call it a day. Round 9 was the finito for Wiosna 2015.

Felt very ‘light-hearted’ after decision was made – suddenly I had plenty of time to move on to my other projects. Couldn’t bring myself to snip off the trial segments just yet, though.

Passage of 3 days ! 3 entire days of tatting wasted . ((post written on April 6))

And guess what … I actually had Withdrawal symptoms !!! Didn’t take up any new project or learning; didn’t take any Grand Finale pics; didn’t even feel like blogging.

No, I just Had to get back to the doily & ‘complete’ it, even though I will be making a few tweaks yet again. Some of it is a ‘compromise’ (my DH does have good taste in decor. He may not be able to tell crochet from tatting, but he does try to be very supportive) ; nonetheless, I persevere with gusto.

Yes, got back on the wagon earlier this evening & tatted away enjoyably. Even got back my mojo for blogging ;-P Here I am in the wee hours of the morning, typing away :-D

I won’t post though, coz I need one more photograph of doily with the sketches ….

Trial Segments - Tatting

Trial 1 :
All beige Round 10 in keeping with the central rounds where maroon was preceded by a ‘solid’ beige round.
Trial 2 :
Black & beige Round 10. Black closer to round 9 in order to highlight this beautiful light shade round.
Trial 3 :
All maroon Round 11, skipping Round 10 completely. I had maroon rings & black chains in mind for this last round. But DH insisted that the pattern should conform to the earlier all-maroon round.
If you notice, I did not cut out any of the trial threads. This left me with the option to simply pick up the shuttles & continue with the ‘chosen one’, as I mentioned in my earlier tip to Wait before cutting out errors, here.


Trial Segments - Sketching


Sometimes I sketch with colour pens & markers to give me a quick feel of what the colours & design might look like.
Option 1 :
In the image, I place the doily & roughly sketched out a potential Round 10 … a repeat of Round 9 as the final round, in all maroon or in maroon & black with switched placement.
Option 2 :
Further above, is my attempt at maroon & black.
Option 3 :
On top right hand, is another option using black as a separate outlining round. (the green is supposed to be maroon).


I have decided & started but would be interested in what you would choose/recommend. 
Any of the above, or something totally different ? 
Curious to read your perspective (& be inspired for the future) … :-)
 oooooooooooo

Jottings
I have started a new Page “Jottings” (click on tab above, or here), where I will keep adding my musings/notes on various tatting techniques. Wherever there is a quotable source, I will give due credit. For the most part, it is my own learning & perspective .
I invite you to share your input, thoughts, experience, perspective, tips, etc. through comments or email.



Related Posts : Collecting Wisdom

18 comments:

  1. Thank you for your new page jotting, very interesting. Nice post, the doily is lovely (I love the row with the experiment with colours). My choice: trial 2 .

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    1. You were the inspiration for those colour expts, Ninetta :-D
      I will keep adding to “Jottings” & will periodically inform. Glad you liked it.

      Trial 2 was my attempt to have a darker colour close to the previous round, so as to highlight it, & yet have maroon saved for the last round.

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  2. I enjoy the decision making process. So many possibilities! Ah, this doily is addictive. I'm glad you're going to finish it.

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    1. Jane, when one keeps wondering & wandering after every 2 repeats, the decision-making seems flawed ;-P There are just too many ideas still floating in my head …. But persevere I shall !

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  3. First of all, I completely agree that row 9 could be the final round. Personally, I like trial 1, all beige. To me, this round is a "filler" round, not a "feature" round, so keeping it all beige keeps it more in the background. I consider the "feature" rounds to be the flower motifs in rounds 4 and 9.

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    1. The all beige was my DH’s idea, trying to sync & ‘repeat’ the Rnd 3 pattern & position in relation to the maroon. But I felt it was too ‘laid back’ a shade & not highlighting round 9 as it should.

      I have learned some useful new terms to determine perspective : filler & feature ! That really clarifies things, mb, thanks :-) Yes, to me the highlights (feature) were the individual flowers & this ‘last’ round – hence used ecru/cream to bring them forth. I had Actually First decided on doing the individual floral motifs in ecru ... all other placement followed After this decision ;-)

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  4. How nice that your husband is helping you choose colors. The most opinion I've ever gotten is, "I like it," which doesn't mean much when it's said for everything!

    The one that stands out to me is Trial 2, but that could be because it has black and is displayed on a white background.

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    1. LOL, I can quite relate to that, Robin! I guess DH was in one of his rare moods to really help out ;-P Or maybe he just wants me to get it over with hahaha
      I do like the black there in Trial 2 – like little pearls or beads.

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  5. I'd do Trial #2 with #3 to finish. Love the black in there - it really pops, biput I like the maroon for the finish.

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    1. Oh Cindy, that was my intention & visualization ! That is exactly how I was gonna make it. But did I ?!!

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  6. I feel I have been away for so long that my opinion is too late, and wont want to comment on what you have probable already started. I will say I do the same thing with markers and so on. But one thing that helps is if you know what kind of tablescape ( A phrase a friend made up to explain her decorating like landscapes) the doily will be on, sometimes I make the decision on that too. I do think that your doily will have great decorating potential and can see many modeling sessions with this doily :)

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    1. Carollyn, no opinion is too late – if not this time, then store it for the future ! Love the term ‘tablescape’ !!! I’m planning on draping it over my sewing machine. And choice of colours was actually ‘forced’. These were shades I bought in bulk (3 balls each!!!) in order to somehow complete the 2014 Spring doily. None of them worked, while the beige one was sent wrongly. But, yes, they do seem to have come together somewhat. A little black with the maroon round would’ve worked better I guess.

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  7. Decisions can really muck things up! I know that I will continue to the end, no matter how long it takes me, because I absolutely love the finished doily. I do like that extra pop of maroon!

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    1. Oh yes, that is the fun of participating in a tat-along, Diane, and with such a nice pattern to boot :-) I’m glad to be continuing to the finish, too.

      Thank you all once again, for being so supportive & prompt with your inputs. Your wonderful inputs are virtually Collective Wisdom at play – there is so much to learn here !
      But be ready to be surprised or shocked when I unveil the final rounds. Can’t say I’m happy or unhappy with my choice, but even as I tat I keep visualizing all the lost opportunities or the umpteen possibilities. Well, one can only put it down to 'all in the name of Experimentation & Learning' :-D

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  8. Wow, what a fascinating glimpse into your amazingly creative mind!! I think all of your possibilities are intriguing, and I love love LOVE your color scheme...whichever way you end up going!

    Side note: isn't it funny how husbands can be relied on to help out with important tatting decisions, even when (and probably when) they have no desire or inclination to tat? :)

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    1. Thank you, Kristen, for you kind words & encouragement ! I am midways through the 'last' round and am now in the mood to snip it all off :-/ Will switch to sewing tomorrow for next few days, so that I come back refreshed, with new perspective.

      Ah, husbands -- can't live with them , can't live without them, .... where it comes to tatting & such hobbies ;-P My DH did not notice that I had a different tool (crochet hook) in my hand when I was making the Memory afghan !! Thought it was all tatting, phew .. LOL

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  9. I'm late to the party! Was going to ask about your background colour, but Madtatter has already dealt with the "tablescape". But what colour is your sewing machine? I like the idea of having maroon outlined with black for the last round, but it wouldn't do for a dark background.

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    1. Grace, welcome to the party .... but don't leave, coz the venue has shifted to my latest post. Would love to have your opinion there :-)
      My sewing machine has a beige lid.. But I was thinking of draping a plain cloth, over which the doily would be draped. So no sewing either !!! And most probably it will be the darker blue that is in the lead photo in my next post here : http://www.tipsaroundthehome.blogspot.in/2015/04/at-crossroads.html
      Hope you take a look & intervene :-)

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